Posts Tagged ‘Aldo Costa’

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has described this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix as “vital” after a disappointing start to the season for the Scuderia.

The team were a second slower than Sebastian Vettel during qualifying in Malaysia and have scored only 36 points this season, half as many as Red Bull.

Technical director Aldo Costa, his deputy Pat Fry and Domenicali all returned to Maranello after Sunday’s race to assess the problems – much like they did two weeks ago after the Australian Grand Prix.

“The main problem we need to deal with is our performance the day before the race in qualifying which is not at the same level as the teams that are currently best,” said Domenicali.

“It is vital for us to react immediately, because we have seen how rapidly things can change in Formula 1. In terms of strategy we can say our race in Sepang was a good one, because our choices proved to be the right ones and the fact we were unable to bring home more points was down to other causes.”

“I am definitely not satisfied with the way the season has begun, but I have complete faith in the people here who know how to react when the situation is tough,” he said.

Domenicali said he was happy with his two drivers, despite the low-scoring returns: “Felipe drove to a very high standard, showing a return to form and Fernando was very aggressive, which is always good for a driver.”

“Back at the factory we have to have a big push to understand our lack of performance,” said the team principal.

“We need to push a lot to upgrade our aero package because aerodynamics is the key to it all. We will try and bring as quickly as possible the upgrades, maybe already in China, that we require.”

A return to form cannot come soon enough for the team who have seen Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel win four consecutive races.